Another Split Within the World Congress of Azerbaijanis

Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. S.Ilhamgizi / The European department of the World Congress of Azerbaijanis (WCA) made a decision to hold their next meeting in protest against the acting leader of the organization, according to Javad Derehti, a representative of the department who spoke to Trend Agency.

According to Derehti, the European branch appealed to the members of the management structure on 19 October and demanded that they take certain measures. They specifically demanded the resignation of the current chairman, Gulamrza Sabri Tabrizi.

During the 9th and most recent meeting of the WCA, held in Keln on 7 July 2007, the new management structure of the organization was unable to make any changes. Nevertheless, the European department has asked its members for tolerance of the current leadership, to avoid further dissent and threats from the chairman.

"Mr.Sabri (Tabrizi), without the knowledge of other management personnel, joined a group of people acting against the WCA. Mr.Sabri threatened to remove those who might protest against him," according to the appeal submitted to the current WCA management team.

The WCA chairman has created divisions within the organization and is attempting to alienate the European department from the WCA, to make the congress safer. The European department proposes the candidacy of three co-chairmen from Azerbaijan, Europe and Russia for the position of the current chairman.

"We called a meeting of the management team on 26 October, however nobody came. It means the management structure is invalid," Derehti said. Another special meeting will be held in the near future.

The European department's claims and their attempt to hold meetings is a so-called "initiative", Tabrizi said by the telephone from London. According to Tabrizi, the European department's members do not want unification of the WCA, but would have it be split into two parts.

"I believer there cannot be two WCAs. The Azerbaijani Diaspora must unify. Therefore, we have established a task group through negotiations. If the management structure gives positive approval, we are planning to hold the next meeting on 3 May," Tabrizi said.

"I did not establish a dictatorship within WCA, as did Derehti. He could not be a real chairman. If he wants to take the chairman position again, let it be as he wants. I will agree with the decision the management team makes," Tabrizi said.

Tabrizi was elected the chairman of the Congress during a meeting on 7 July. In 2003, the Congress was split up into two parts. A group of people demonstrating against Derehti separated from the WCA and founded the Democratic World Congress of Azerbaijanis (DWCA).